Maximum-demand recorder.



C. I. HALL.

MAXIMUM DEMAND RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE I8, 1913.

1 ,2]. 7, 3O 1 Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

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MAXIMUM DEMAND RECORDER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, I9I3.

1 21?,391 Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

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MAXIMUMYDEMAND RECORDER.-

APPLICATION FILED JUNE18, 1913.

1,217,301. Patented Feb.27,1917.

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,fiiiarzzeya UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHESTER I. HALL, .or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR Io CHICAGO ELECTRIC MEIER company, or cmcaco, ILL NOIS, a 'conronarro v on ILLINOIS,

MAXIMUM-DEMAND RECORDER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 27, 1917.

Application filed June 18, 1913. Serial No. 774,291.

To all whom it may com-em 7 Be it. known that I, CHESTER I. HALL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chlv cage, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Maximum-Demand Recorders, of which the following is a full,

' the quantity of electricity or current flowing throughthe circuit in each of successive time intervals is accurately represented upon the record-sheet and, further, that the length of time is clearly indicated during which the consumption of current or energy in the cir;

cuit has various maxima values. 'In other words, the record made bythe instrumentshows, not only the maximum "consumption of current or energy for any one of equal intervals, but it also shows the-time d1stribu-.

tion of consumption during theinterval so that, from the record made,it can be deter mined inwhat manner the current was usedby the customerdurin the time ofthe making of the record, T e' instrument is also constructed so that if,- for any reason, the

marking device does. notreturn tozero at the end of each interv'aL this' fact is atonce indicated upon therecord and the accuracy of the readings is'in no way interferedwith. By my invention, the above objects are se-.

I cured bysa construction which is simple,

positive in operation, and so constructed that all fine adjustments are eliminated and, as a result, the recordfl produced is reliable, and as accurate'as a graphic record can readily'be made.

The several drawings vention are as follows:

illustrating my elevation the I entire metering mechanism;

' Fig. 2 is a top view of the mechanism shown in Fig.1;

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view'of the parts shown in Fig.1,- taken {along the Fig. 4 is a verticalsection'al view of the partsfshown' in Fig. 2, takenalong the line 4 4;

Fig. shows in a view similar to Fig. 4 the timing devices in their alternate posi tion;

Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 6-6 in Fig. 1 through the centen of the supporting shaft for the receivlng roll for the completed record;

Fig.7 is a view in elevation from the right-hand side of the marking element shown in Fig. 1; and

time train of clockwork mechanism 2, 3,4,5,-

6, 7 .8 is mounted. This train is adapted to be wound by rotation of the :squared arbor 9 in" a manner well-known in the art. The other side of the framework 1 hasmounted therein a modified striking train 10, 11, 12, 13, 14," for controlling the making of the record. Acam 15 driven by the wheel. 3 of the timing, chain is provided to release the striking train .at regularly recurring intervals in a manner well-known in the art and,

in the articular construction shown, the

cam 15 as but one projection, as indicated at 16, so that with this arrangement the striking train is released once each hour. If,

however, it is desired to haveshorter time intervals. as the successive intervals during which successive records are made upon the record sheet, the cam 15 .will be provided with a corresponding larger number of cam projections 16. Y

The wheel '11 of the striking train is provided with a plurality of outwardly projecting pins .17 which engage the upper end of a lever 18, pivotallyv mounted at 19, in the framework, the lower end 20 of which lever operates to restore, the marking apparatus to zero at'the. end of succeeding time intervals in'a manner to be described. The striking train is wound in a manner similar to that referred to for the timing train.

- The recording app'arat'us consists of a, supply roller 21 mounted vertically inthe lower portion of the framework 1 for receiving a supply roll 22 of the. record sheet or strip,

andthis roller 21 has restin upon, the sure face of one of its flanges a ight spring 23,

which serves as a brake to prevent rotation of the roller 21 eXcep't'as-it is actuated by pulling the paper from it. A measuring roller 24 is employed, which has projecting axially from'it at its top and bottom a series of, driving points 25 for accurately feeding the record strip. The roller 24 has secured to its upper end a gear 26 meshing with an idle spur gear 27, Which is driven by a gear 28 secured to the vertical shaft 29. The gear 28 also meshes with a second idle pinion 30' which drives a. gear 31 secured to theuppr end of the receiving roller 32- vertically mounted in the lower left-hand portion of the framework 1. To compensate for varying diameters of the record strip upon the receiving roller 32, a driving friction is mounted in the upper head of the receiving roller, as shown in Fig. 6,,in which the upper head-33 of the receiving roller'32has formed in it' a central recess for receiving a, fiat spring 34, which bears against the "under:

surface of the gear 31 and also upon the flange 35 rigidly secured to the "ertical shaft 36 supporting the receiving roller. The gear 31 and the upper head 33 of the receiving roller are free to revolve upon the shaft 36, as a result of which the driving torqueimparted to the receiving roller is only that communicated through the friction spring 34. By this means, as the gearingis so designed as to rotate the roller 32 rapidly enough to wind up the paper when the. diameter of the record strip upon the roller is small, the record strip will be maintained at all times in taut condition around the mea s-- uring roller 24; Furthermore, as the measuring roller 24 is the sole means for determining the rate of the motion of the record strip, it follows that the strip will at all .41 forming the top of the lower portion of the frame work is considerably deeper from front to. rear-than is the clockwork mesh-- amend, and the portion "of this plate in front of the clockwork mechanism constitutes a shelf upon which the controlling devices for moving the marking point upon the record are located. These consist of a carriage 42 mounted so as to move freely upon the two horizontal rods 43 supported by posts 44 above the plate '41, transversely of the instrument. The carriage 42. has mounted upon ita solenoid 45 provided with a core or plunger 46, to the right end of-which an actuating pawl 47 ispivoted at 48. A

Larasoi spring 49- serves to maintain the pawl in en-- gagement with a ratchet wheel 50 secured to a shaft 51 mounted in upwardly extending bearings 52, 52, carried by the carriage 42. The ratchetwheel 50 has secured to it a :spur gear 53, which is in engagement normally with'the teeth of a vertical rack 54, and the carriage and parts carried thereby are normallyheld in their right-hand position sov that the gear 53 engages the rack 54 by means of springs 55 surrounding the rods 43 between the left-hand posts 44 and the right-hand end of the carriage 42. The

extending lug 57 at its left-hand. end in line with the lower end of the lower portion 20 of the lever operated by the striking train. As aresult .0 this construction, whenever the striking train is operated, the lever arms 18, 20 by their motion move the carriage 42 and parts'carried thereby to the left, entirely clearing the rack 54 from its operating gear and retaining devices so that it is free to fall, together with the marking element 58 secured to its' lower end, into its lowermost position.

The rack 54 extends loosely through an opening in the plate 41 made to receive it andtthe lower end of therackis secured to the marking element 58, which moves vertically upon the two vertical rods 59, as best indicated in 15 ig. 7 The fit ofthe markingelement 58 upon the rods 59 is sufficientlyloose so that the marking element drops readily to its lowermost position when the rack 54 is released. Resilient material- 60 is preferably provided between the bottom plate of the framework and the marking element so as to cushion its fall from any position to which it may be actuated when the rack 54 is released. The marking element, 58 carries a marking point 61, which is held in engagement with the record sheet 62 by means of spring pressure controlled by an adjusting screw 63, any particular tension being secured by a lock nut 64. A retaining pawl 65 is mounted upon the carriage 42 to hold the ratchet wheel 50 and the gear 53 in any position towhich they may be rotated by the actuating pawl 47. This insures proper engagement between the 42 is released by the levers i8, 20.

The devices for controlling the operation of the gear 11 and the levers actuated theregear 53 and the rack 54 when the carriage by are shown in Figs. 4 and 5, in which, as

indicated, the cam 15 has restingupon it the lower end of a lever 66 piyotally supported at 67 and having its upwardly extending end in the pathof the pin 68 carried by the gear 69 when the lever 66 is moved to its outermost position and out of the path of said pin 68 when the lever 66 is in a position nearest theshaft 70 carrying the cam 15. The upper end of thelever 66 has resting against it an arm 71, secured to a shaft72, from which extends the locking dog 73, the end of which engages a notch 74 formed in a disk 75 secured to the shaft carrying the gear 76. The pin 68 is so disposed angularly relatively to the notch 74 that when the lever 66 is moved outwardly by the cam 15, the dog is moved from engagement with the notch 74, at the same time that the lever 66 is moved into the path of the pin 68 and suflicient motion of the gear train resuits before the pin 68 engages the lever 66 so that the dog 7 3 rests upon the outer surface of the disk 7 5, in which position it remains adjacent to the notch 74 until the lever 66 is released by the cam 15 and-moved to the position indicated in Fig. 4 by a suitable spring, for which condition the pin 68 is freed and the gear 76 must make nearly one complete rotation before the dog 73 again engages the notch 74 to prevent further rotation of the gear train. The mechanism described thus affords a definite amount of angular motion of the gear 11 at a rate determined-by the flywheel 14, so that the carriage 42 may be moved to the left, releasing the rack 54 for a definite time interval sufficient to permit the rack 54 and parts carried thereby to move to their lowermost position, before the rack is again en gaged by its actuating gear 53.

In the diagrammatic drawing shown in Fig. 8, the shaft of an integrating electricity meter is indicated at 77 and this shaft drives, by means of the gearing indicated, a ratchet 1 wheel 78, operating contact mechanism of the kind shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 753,257. From this contact mechanism, wires extend to the solenoid 45 and a battery 79, the other terminal of the battery being connected with the other terminal of the solenoid. The relation of the mechanical parts controlled by the actuation of the solenoid and the relation of the marker to the record sheet is clearly indicated in this view and require no special description.

It is to be pointed out that the recordsheet is preferably of considerable length so that there is considerable motion of the record sheet during each interval between successive withdrawals of the carriage 42 from the rack 54 to permit the making of a record, which will clearly indicate what occurs during each of the intervals, that is to say, whether-the maximum demand indicated by the record for any interval is built up rapidly at one portion of the interval .orwhether it is a uniform increase reprethe difliculty may be.

senting asteady rate of consumption of current or energy.

In constructing devices of this kind, it has been found that the mechanical load necessarily imposed upon the electricity mev ter by the movingpointer, if it be attempted to drive the pointer directly andmechanically from the moving parts of the meter, is so great as to seriously interfere with the accurate operation of the meter. By my invention, therefore, .I provide electrical devices for moving the pointer or marker upon ticular operating conditions and that, therefore, the steps may be as small as desired and constitute in effect a continuous curve.

A further result secured by my invention is that the mechanism used to release the marker at the end of each time interval removes all of the moving parts from engagement with the element rigidly associis freelysupported so as to move without appreciable friction vertically, it is certain to return to its initial position at the end of each interval with great accuracy. It will be understood, however, if for any reason the marker does not completely return to' its initial position at the end of any. time interval, that, for the next time interval, a

ated with the marker and, as this element new base line-is automatically'produced by themarker upon the record sheet and that the consumption for the next interval is determined by referring to this new base line and that this may be true for any time interval or intervals depending upon how long the difiiculty exists preventing the complete return of the marker or what the nature of The return of the marker at the end of each time interval to its zero position is made certain for the further reason that the removal of the actuat-' ing devices mounted upon the carriage 42 from engagement with the rack 54 is me-- few in number and that the friction upon them is comparatively small and, therefore, the amount of the electrical energy required to move the marker over the record sheet can be made very small and well within the with instruments of this kind. It will at once appear that, if the current were large, the arcing occurring at the terminals of the contacts actuated by the wheel 7 8 would be prohibitive and the maintenance of the mstrument would be so serious a factor as to preclude its installation for practical puroses. a p While l have shown the particular form of contact mechanism illustrated in Fig. 8 for controlling the operation of the solenoid 45, it will be understood that I may employ other forms of contact mechanism for accomplishing this result, as for example that shown anddescribed in my copendmg application, Serial Nos. 600,426 and 612,052.

In some of the appended claims l have used the term significant to define the intervals during which electrical energy 18 consumed and recorded. .lBy a significant interval 1 mean an interval which, while it may be very short as compared to a billing period of, say,one month, is long as compared'to the time in whlch ordinary variations or fluctuations in the electricity supply occur. Thus a record of time elapsed and energy consumed during an interval of a few seconds duratlon does not adord any significant information upon which a charge may be based, as the interval is so short that the record wouldb'e' affected by fluctuations and variations in the supply-of electrical energy. 0n the other hand, a record of energy consumed and time elapsed during an interval of, say, ten minutes or one hour is not affected by ordinary fluctuations or variations in the electricity supply,

and thus the record for such an interval does afford significant information which may be used in arriving at a charge to be made against a consumer of electrical energy.

While I have 'shownmy invention in the particular embodiments before described, it will be understood that l do not limit myself to these exact detailsas ll might use other equivalent constructions without departing from the spirit or my invention;

What ll claim is:

1.. In an electricity measuring and recordmg mechanism, the COIIllQll'lfltlOn-Of devices for driving a. record sheet at a uniform rate, a marker for tracingia record upon the record sheet, an element extending vertlcally from the marker, mechanism for moving the.

element and marker vertically proportionally to the electricity'measured, and devices for freeing said element from its actuating for drivin a record sheet at a uniform rate, of a mar er, means for advancing said marker in steps transversely of the direction of motion'of the record sheet and in contact therewith, mechanism for causing each advance,step of said marker to occur when a definite quantity of electricity has been measured, andmechanism for periodi cally returning'said marker to its initial position at one side of the record sheet, the line traced by said marker serving as a graphic indication of the rate at which electricity was consumed during component parts of eachot a plurality of successive intervals.

3. lln an electricity measuring and recording instrument the combination with devices for driving a record sheet at a uniform rate, of a marker, electromechan cal means for advancing said marker in steps transversely ofthe direction of motion of the record sheet and in contact therewith, mechanism for causing each advance'step of said element to occur when a definite quantity of electricity has been measured, mechanism for returning said marker to its initial position at one edge of the record sheet after each of successive equal time intervals, the line traced by said marker serving as a graphic indication of the quantity of electricity used in successive equal time intervals and the rate at which the electricity was used during component parts of each time interval.

- 45 111 an electricity measuring and recording mechanism, the combination of devices for moving a record sheet at a uniform rate, a marker mounted to move transversely of the motion of the record sheet in contact therewith to make a record thereon, a rack extending from said marker, a gear for actuating said rack, a solenoid for actuating said gear, and a movable carriage for supporting said solenoid and gear, motion of said carnage serving to move the gear from engagement with said rack, said carriage'being to move the gearfrom engagement with said rack, and devices for moving said carriageat significant intervals to release the gear from-said'rack.

6. lln an electricity measuring and record ing mechanism, the combination of devices for moving a record sheet at a uniform rate,

5a marlrer'mounted to move transversely of the motion of the record sheet to make a continuous record thereon, a rack extending from said marker, a gear 'for actuating said rack, a solenoid for actuating said gear, a movable carriage for supporting said solenoid and gear, motion of said carriage serving to move the gear from engagement with said rack, a gear train, mechanism for periodically permitting motion of the gear train, and mechanical devices actuated by the gear train for moving the carriage at significant intervals to move the gear from engagement with said rack.

7. In an electricity measurmg and recording mechanism, the combination of devices for moving a record sheet at a uniform rate, a marker mounted to move transversely of the motion of the record sheet to make a continuous record thereon, a rack extendin from said marker, a gear for actuating said rack, a solenoid for actuating said gear, a movable carriage for supporting said solenoid and gear, motion of said carriage at significant intervals serving to move the gear from engagement with said rack, electricity integrating mechanism, and connections between said integrating mechanism and said solenoid for operating said solenoid and thereby said marker proportionally to the electricity integrated.

8. In a recording mechanism, the combination of a supply roller for holding a record sheet, a receiving roller for said record sheet, a driving roller for engaging the reco'rd sheet between the supply roller and the receiving roller, gearing for driving the driving roller and the receiving roller,

integrating mechanism, devices for actuating the marker proportionally to the electrieity integrated, and means for releasing the marker at significant intervals to permit it to return to its initial position.

9. In an apparatus of the class described the combination with devices for driving a record sheet at a uniform rate, of a marker, means for effecting a step by step advancement of the marker, transversely of the direction of motion of the record-sheet and in contact with the latter, each one-step advancement being accomplished when a definite quantity of electricity has been measured, and means for returning the marker to its initial position at one side of the record sheet at recurring intervals, the line traced upon the record sheet by said marker serving as a graphic indication of successive intervals in the consumption'of electricity and the rate at which electricity was used during component parts of each interval.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 12th day of June, A. D. 1913.

CHESTER I. HALL.

WVitnesses:

ALBERT G. MoCALEB, ALBIN C. AHLBERG. 

